


Working Hard or Hardly Working

by Pidgin



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, More characters to be added, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, i care them, oneshots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21749674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pidgin/pseuds/Pidgin
Summary: Oneshots I'll write when I'm bored and feel warm because I lov these characters and they make me uwu unironically. They'll mostly be fluff with bits of angst here and there, nothing spicy at the moment but that could all change. I'll try to post fairly often given that I have the time, also feel free to tell me if my grammar is off my brain has been fried. I'm posting this on wattpad as well, at the moment, so don't be alarmed if you see it there as well!
Kudos: 5





	Working Hard or Hardly Working

Since the war started, everyone has been so low, Mercedes thought to herself. Of course she knew why and definitely wasn’t trying to make light of it, but seeing everyone so sad all the time wasn’t good for the Blue Lions morale. Sat alone on one of the long wooden dining hall tables, she slumped over with her head in her hands as she wondered what she could do to brighten everyone’s day up even just a little bit. That was when her swinging foot nudged something solid under the table. In dull surprise, she sluggishly lowered her head under the table to examine the solid thing. Instantly, her eyes grew starry and bright, and for the first time in ages, her heart thumped with excitement. She recognised the decorative immediately, all fancy and neat- a beloved recipe book. 

Like a mother lifting her baby from a cot, she lifted the book from the ground and began to blow off the dust it was caked in. For a moment she was still, emotion suddenly caught in her throat as she thought how delightfully funny it was that, amongst all broken and dead things she’d seen and lost in these past few years, her recipe book was the thing that came back to her. She quickly wiped away tears that pricked her eyes with the back of a delicate finger as she realised what she had to do. At that moment Mercedes decided that she’d bring happiness to her friends by baking them all their favourite sweets. 

After finishing up with her duties for the day, Mercedes rushed to the kitchens as if she was running away from the fatigue that was ready to claim her aching bones for the next ten hours. She quickly gathered up what ingredients she could, it wasn’t easy to find chocolate when your king was at war with the empire but she knew a few merchants that took the art of baking very seriously. She didn’t care that she had to spend what little savings she had on this, this is what she had to do. She hadn’t been in the kitchens for a long time, however cooking wouldn’t be a health hazard thanks to the professor putting Annette and Ashe on kitchen cleaning duty for their first few days back at the monastery. She really didn’t want to remember Annette’s theatrical description of how dirty the worktops were and the number of rotting potatoes they had to throw out. 

So she quickly got to work, rolling her sleeves up and putting her apron on, making sure her hair wouldn’t get in the way. Her hands quickly cast a little fire spell in one of the ovens, immediately filling the cold room with warmth. She’d made a mental note of all the treats she needed to bake- she knew them like the back of her hand. And so the familiar process began- making the doughs, kneading them with her fists, making sure the dough didn’t stick to the worktop, etcetera, etcetera. When everything had been placed in the oven, Mercedes was at last able to catch her breath. She was exhausted, her shoulders and her wrists were so sore from all the kneading and mixing, her brow was dripping with sweat and her chest felt cold and dry. But, as she looked through the window facing out to the fishing pond, she was reminded that it was all worth it when she saw Dedue gently handing out rations to the few villagers left and Sylvain lifting monastery orphans onto his horse and playing with them. Everyone was working so mind-numbingly hard. 

She pulled herself out of her thoughts when she realised that she was cooking, goddess forbid she burned a single cake. To her relief, the sweets had risen and were cooked perfectly. Satisfied with this, she put on her own pair of oven mitts she’d brought with her and took each tray out of the large oven, lining them up neatly. She’d baked lots of sweets, perhaps too many but to Mercedes the more the merrier. After lovingly icing the cakes and biscuits, she took a step back to admire her handiwork and pride bloomed in her chest as she grew excited as she could begin to picture the rosiness being brought back into Ingrid and Annette’s cheeks and the smiles spreading on Sylvain and Ashe’s faces, even the more subtle happiness from the likes of Dedue and the professor, she hoped that even Felix would be happy after remembering something Lysithea had told her when they were students- something about a cake. She was more uncertain about Dimitri, the man looked half dead as he roamed the crumbling walls of the monastery alone at night, but she baked him something as well- it just wouldn’t do to forget about someone.

That evening, Mercedes was sat in a strategy meeting with the rest of the Blue Lions, despite trying her best to pay attention she just couldn’t help but think about the plates of cakes and biscuits and all sorts of other treats stacked high in the dining hall. Sylvain, the fun loving spirit that he is, must have caught on that Mercedes’s mind was elsewhere, as he looked over at her with a little smirk and questioning gaze. At this, Mercedes scolded herself and put all of her energy into focusing intently on what Byleth’s face as they spoke and the diagrams they drew on the chalkboard. As the fun ebbed away momentarily, time passed by painfully slow and Mercedes was reminded of how tired and depressed everyone was. As the meeting drew to a close, Mercedes caught everyone’s attention with a little ahem and being the first to her feet. 

“Ah, everyone,” she began shakily, realising all eyes were on her, “if you could, please meet me outside the dining hall in a few minutes.” And that concluded her announcement, leaving everyone with puzzled looks upon their face. However, before leaving she remembered one last thing. “Professor, if you would be so kind, could you check in on Dimitri and tell him that we’ll all be in the dining hall this evening.” Professor Byleth nodded with a little smile on their lips, perhaps knowing Mercedes was plotting something of a real treat after teaching her and learning her behaviour after a year or so. 

As asked, the old Blue Lions class huddled outside of the dining hall on the fishing pond side. Byleth had even managed to drag Dimitri along, despite his venomous protests. The chill of the autumnal night air was making everyone shiver. 

“Goddess, it’s freezing!” Exclaimed Ashe, punctuated by the chattering of his teeth and a shiver running up and down his spine. 

“What’s taking so long? This is just a waste of my ti-“ Felix’s complaint was cut short by Ingrid administering a pinch to his cheek to shut him up. Annette hadn’t said a word but the way she bounced from foot to foot with the stars in the sky gleaming in her eyes showed that she was very excited indeed. 

Suddenly, the heavy atmosphere dissipated by Mercedes opening the door with a warm smile on her face and a light flush on her cheeks. “Come on in,” she beamed and backed away from the entryway. Annette, trusting as ever, boldly walked in and squealed, prompting the others to shuffle in after her. Mercedes’ heart soared as she watched the tiredness in her friends’ eyes begin to ebb away. 

“Whoah, Mercie this is incredible!” Annette exclaimed excitedly, running up to Mercedes and wrapping her arms around her hastily. “This is all yours,” Mercedes laughed, “I baked everyone’s favourites, I hope you all like it.”

At first everyone looked stunned, even Felix, but soon the room was filled with delightful chatter. If Mercedes closed her eyes, she could picture everyone sat down to eat lunch, not as comrades in a disgusting war but as classmates at a school. Throughout the night, Mercedes took great pleasure in forgetting about the outside world and talking to her classmates- her friends- about the taste of cinnamon rolls and how the crumbs of the cookies clung to her friends’ lips or fell to the floor making a mess. A happy mess she won’t mind cleaning up in the morning after a restful night where everyone goes to bed with a full belly and a smile on their face.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've posted in years but I'm really trying :,)  
> Any comments you leave will warm my frosty heart in these trying winter months and I will appreciate them a lot uwu


End file.
